The subject matter herein relates generally to electrical connectors, and more particularly, to surface mounted electrical connectors.
Many known connectors are mounted on a top side of a circuit board and protrude upward from the circuit board. These connectors include electrical contacts that are electrically connected to conductive traces in the circuit board or to wires that extend along the surface and/or sides of the circuit board. The connectors have a mating interface configured to mate with a mating connector such as a plug connector or a card module. The mating interface typically is located parallel or perpendicular with respect to the top side of the circuit board.
Some of these known connectors may have a height profile above the top side of the circuit board that is top large for certain applications. For example, the profile of some connectors used in conjunction with light emitting diodes (“LEDs”) may be so large relative to the LEDs that the connectors impede or block some of the light emitted by the LEDs. Additionally, the trend toward smaller electronic devices and more densely packed electronic devices and connectors on a circuit board requires the reduction of the height profile for connectors.
A need exists for a connector having a smaller profile than known connectors. Such a connector may be useful in devices where a smaller connector height profile is desired, such as in LED lighting devices.